


The Cuddle Café

by awaywiththefairies



Category: DBSK, DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ, JYJ (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-18
Updated: 2012-12-18
Packaged: 2018-01-24 12:20:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1604963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awaywiththefairies/pseuds/awaywiththefairies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p> Junsu hasn’t slept well in weeks and when Changmin tells him about a possible solution, it may be time to swallow his pride, let go of his fears, and visit a certain establishment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Cuddle Café

 

  
  
The derelict building towered ominously in front of him, cheesy neon signs pointing him towards the entrance. All the windows that he could see were covered, and the alley he was in was completely deserted. Junsu desperately looked at the address in his hand again; maybe he’d misread it and there was another place with the exact same name, but without the half-broken neon letters spelling it out in red.

There wasn’t. This was it. He was half-tempted to call Changmin and shout at him for sending him here, but Changmin would just twist his words around and he would end up apologizing to him instead of the other way around. Besides, Changmin had said a friend of his worked here and that it really was just cuddling and sleeping, nothing actually illegal. Still, Junsu was creeped out.

As he stood staring at the entrance, he could feel his eyelids becoming heavy and he realised he didn’t have a choice. He had never been able to sleep well alone. When he was a child he had slept in the same bed as his twin, and later on he had flitted from boyfriend to boyfriend. It had never been a problem before, but he hadn’t had a boyfriend in months. On top of that, his brother was studying abroad and he had no friends close enough, except Changmin, who refused. He hadn’t been able to sleep well for weeks, and it didn’t seem to be getting any better.

Hesitantly, he entered the building and made his way to the establishment, trying not to look too much at the pictures in the hallway illustrating the purpose of the café. Though it wasn’t really worth calling this place a café; he doubted you would be able to order any sort of beverage. He found the right door quickly enough and carefully opened it, glancing around the corner.

There was a pretty girl at the counter that immediately spotted him and waved him inside before greeting him politely. The hallway was covered with pastel-coloured sheets, and soft lights were visible through some of them. Nobody else was in sight.

“What can I do for you?” She asked, a smile plastered on her face, her voice slow and husky.

“Is this the cuddle café?” Junsu asked. The girl barely had any clothes on, just a tank top, shorts and stockings. Any hopes of being in the wrong place were dashed when the girl nodded.

He decided to try anyway. “Do you have any guys available?” He cringed after he had said it. Now he sounded like some creepy pervert inquiring after sex-workers. When the girl just blinked at him and didn’t reply immediately, Junsu started fidgeting.

“It’s okay if you don’t. I just sleep better with guys,” Junsu blurted out. “Shit, you must think I’m really weird by now.” He wanted to slap himself, but instead he looked at the ground, avoiding the girl’s stare. Changmin always told him he should just keep his mouth shut, but in this case it would actually have been sound advice.

The girl laughed and waved her hands as if to say it was okay. “We do, it’s just less commonly asked for, so we have only one. If you don’t mind not being able to pick?”

Junsu exhaled slowly and nodded. “Okay.”

He was led through the dimly lit hallway while the girl softly explained how things would work and what the prices were. He swallowed at the hourly fee, but if it got him a full night’s sleep, he’d pay it gladly.

At the very end of the hallway, she pulled a sheet back and motioned him inside the small cubicle after he had taken his shoes off. There was a mattress on the ground, covered with a blanket and some cute pillows. The only light came from a small star-shaped lamp.

“He’ll be with you shortly,” the girl said and left him alone.

Around him he could see the shadows of other customers or employees through the thin fabric. Soft whispers reached his ears, though he could not make out the words. There was even someone snoring softly not so far away.

He had just taken off his jacket when the sheet was pulled back and he came face to face with a half-naked and incredibly good looking man. He was only wearing a pair of boxer shorts, and they didn’t hide all that much. Maybe Junsu should have expected it with the way the girl had been dressed, but somehow he had still assumed the other would be wearing pyjamas or something.

As he stared, the guy stepped inside and let the sheet fall closed behind him. Junsu could feel the blush forming on his cheeks as he admired the lines of the other’s body, but when the man sat down, he was suddenly confronted with a stormy expression. He flinched but didn’t turn away. Regardless of the expression, the face in front of him was ridiculously pretty, and he wondered briefly why the guy was working here. The glare didn’t lessen, however, and as the silence stretched out, Junsu became more and more certain that he wanted to leave.

The girl had told him there was an entrance fee though, so he might as well try and make the best of it.

“Hey,” he said weakly.

The guy rolled his eyes. “Yeah yeah, I’m Jaejoong.” His voice was soft, but there was a clear bite behind it. Junsu stared, at a loss. He hadn’t done anything wrong had he?

“This is where you tell me your name,” Jaejoong said. “Not that I care.”

Junsu fiddled with the lace on one of the pillows, avoiding Jaejoong’s intense stare. “I’m Junsu,” he replied softly.

“So, what do you want?”

Junsu looked up, surprised. “To sleep?”

Jaejoong sighed loudly and tapped his finger against a paper stuck to the wall. “None of the extra things?”

Blinking, Junsu looked at the list. The girl had told him there were ‘extra’s’ but he hadn’t realised what they were. The list with prices made him feel even more awkward. Why would he pay to stare at someone for a couple of minutes? He glanced at Jaejoong and blushed again. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t that shocking.

After dutifully having read through the list, he shook his head and turned back to Jaejoong. “No, just sleeping.”

“Fine. Lie down,” Jaejoong commanded, and for a second Junsu thought the guy would push him down in his impatience.

Placing his jacket to the side, Junsu slowly lay down on the soft mattress, carefully keeping his eyes on the plain white ceiling. He shifted a bit so the pillow was more comfortable, and tried not to provoke Jaejoong in some way or another.

He was so tense from the unfamiliar situation and Jaejoong’s open hostility that he didn’t think he would be able to sleep, but when he felt the familiar dip of the mattress of someone lying down next to him, he almost immediately relaxed and sighed happily.

After a couple of minutes of silence, he carefully moved so he could lie on his side, curled up and comfortable. He didn’t feel or hear Jaejoong move, so after a moment he chanced a glance at the other. Jaejoong was lying on his back with his eyes closed and his expression neutral. He was breathing evenly, his hands on his stomach. More relaxed like this, he looked almost kind; not at all like the person he had been only minutes ago.

Junsu shuffled closer, until he was lying right next to the other and closed his eyes contently.

\---

It took him a while to realise where he was when he woke up. After blinking a couple of times while trying to clear his head, he noticed someone staring right at him, only centimetres away. _Jaejoong,_ his mind supplied. Oh right, the cuddle café. He yawned and blinked again. The light was still the same so he couldn’t tell how much time had passed, but he was still tired, although he already felt better than he had in the past week.

“What’s wrong?” He asked Jaejoong softly. “Are you closing? Do I need to leave?”

Jaejoong frowned even more and shook his head. Deciding to go back to sleep, Junsu pulled his blanket up higher and tried to settle in again. He couldn’t remember falling asleep with the blanket, but he’d probably grabbed it unconsciously.

“Why do you pay for this?” Jaejoong suddenly asked in a whisper.

Sleepy and confused, Junsu mirrored the other’s frown. “Because I can’t sleep alone.”

Jaejoong seemed to be thinking, but Junsu was too tired to care.

“Can I hold your hand?” Junsu asked, suddenly desiring that tiny bit of extra comfort before going to sleep again.

Something hardened in Jaejoong’s eyes. “That’s extra.”

Junsu just sighed and nodded, reaching for the other’s hand and lacing their fingers together. Within minutes he was asleep again, a happy smile on his face. For a moment, on the edge of a dream, he thought he could feel Jaejoong squeezing his hand softly.

\---

The second time he woke up, it was to fingers gently carding through his hair. It was only when he tried to move that he realised his pillow had disappeared and he was lying on someone’s arm. _Jaejoong’s_ arm, his mind kindly supplied again. He didn’t dare open his eyes to see where the other was, for fear of disrupting the caress, but he could feel Jaejoong’s breathing against his forehead.

What had happened to the rude and distant guy he had went to sleep with? The thought that someone had replaced him crossed his mind, but somehow he knew they hadn’t. This was still Jaejoong.

The stroking moved a bit lower, to the nape of his neck, and Junsu had to stop himself from moving even further into the embrace. He felt so safe and loved and rested, and yet this was practically a stranger. No wonder some people came here every day and spent fortunes on the café. Junsu’s heart fell; it would be so hard to go back to sleeping alone after this.

Unconsciously, he moved slightly. The hand immediately moved away. Junsu sighed at the loss. He could feel Jaejoong watching him and decided to turn onto his other side. He doubted he could keep his expression neutral and sleep-like, but maybe he still had a shot if he just hid his face completely.

Hyper-aware of Jaejoong behind him, Junsu did his best to even out his breath, and surely enough, after a couple of moments, Jaejoong moved and wrapped an arm around his waist. His heart skipped a beat, and he could barely contain his happiness. With his whole mind focused on sleep the past couple of weeks he had forgotten how much he missed cuddling as well. He couldn’t deny that it was a bit weird to snuggle up to a stranger but with Jaejoong it was somehow okay. Slowly, he drifted off to sleep again.

\---

“Junsu, wake up.”

A hand was gently shaking his shoulder.

“Junsu.”

The voice calling his name was soft and gentle and Junsu suddenly realised it was Jaejoong. He fought against the desire to go back to sleep and rubbed at his eyes with the palm of his hand.

“Hey,” Jaejoong said. He was sitting next to him, back against the wall, a small smile on his face. Junsu couldn’t help but stare. He’d expected Jaejoong to go back to his snappy self.

“Hi,” Junsu said awkwardly and pushed himself up into a sitting position.

“The café is closing,” Jaejoong said. He opened his mouth again as if to add something, but nothing followed.

“Oh.” Junsu looked down at the blanket still covering his legs. He didn’t want to leave, even though he must’ve slept for nearly ten hours if it was closing time already. Slowly, he got up and put his jacket back on, stalling wherever he could. Jaejoong watched him, a frown marring his face again. Eventually he couldn’t postpone the inevitable anymore and he just stood there, empty-handed, looking at Jaejoong, and Jaejoong looking at him.

“Bye,” Junsu said, but it was almost a question. Jaejoong didn’t reply.

Sighing, he turned around and stepped into the hallway. Still half-asleep he almost fell over his own shoes, but was quick enough to catch himself without tearing down the fabric on the opposite wall. He felt incredibly down even though he had had a good night’s sleep for the very first time in ages. He pulled on his shoes, not bothering with the laces, and started towards the desk.

“Junsu,” Jaejoong called.

Junsu turned around to find Jaejoong behind him.

“Don’t come here again,” Jaejoong said and something in Junsu’s stomach twisted. “You can do better than this.”

Before he had the chance to deny it, Jaejoong had walked away, looking frustrated.

Without any energy, he made his way to the front desk and paid, not even looking at the amount of money he was charged. He made his way home and crashed in his bed, listlessly watching television for the rest of the night.

\---

He spent the next two weeks ignoring Changmin’s inquiries as to why he wasn’t going again if he had slept so well, and trying once again to figure out a way of sleeping on his own. Like he had dreaded, it had become even harder to sleep by himself now that he had experienced sleeping next to someone again. Even forcing his cats to sleep in his bed didn’t help anymore; they couldn’t hold him like Jaejoong had. And Jaejoong haunted him. He’d been tempted to go back the very next day, but the words the other had spoken still echoed in his head. Jaejoong didn’t want him there.

 The dark circles under his eyes were becoming rather prominent when he accidentally came across the costs of the cuddle café when checking his finances. He stared at the numbers as if they would explain themselves, and even opened the site in his browser so he could check the prices again.

They’d only charged him the basic hourly fee. Not that it was cheap, but Jaejoong had done so much more than just sleep next to him. This time he couldn’t stop himself, he grabbed his coat and made his way to the café.

\---

It was weird standing in front of the building again. Now that he knew what was inside, it was a whole different experience. He didn’t have the patience to dwell on it, however, and quickly made his way up to the right door.

The same girl was at the desk, and recognised him. “Welcome back, what can I do for you?”

Junsu took a minute to catch his breath and formulate his thoughts.

“You only have one guy, right?”

The girl nodded.

“Is he here today?”

Another nod.

“I’d like to see him,” Junsu said, anticipation crawling in his stomach.

“If you’d please follow me,” the girl said, and led him to the now familiar room. Quickly, he took his shoes off and sat down near the pillows. He hoped Jaejoong wouldn’t be mad; he just wanted to see him again. He could leave again if Jaejoong wanted him to, but first Junsu wanted to know why Jaejoong hadn’t charged him.

The sheets were pulled aside and a lean figure walked in.  “Hello, I’m Yoochun.”

Junsu’s stomach dropped and his expression must have as well. “You’re not Jaejoong,” he said stupidly.

Yoochun frowned. “No, I’m not.”

Junsu’s thoughts were running overtime. How was this possible, had Jaejoong been fired? It wasn’t because of him, was it? Maybe they’d found out about the costs. He bit on his lip, worrying.

“Do you know where he is?” he asked eventually.

Yoochun stayed near the entrance, and looked at him suspiciously. “What’s your name?”

“Junsu, why?”

Now Yoochun broke out into a smile and crouched down opposite him.

“Ah, so you’re Changmin’s friend.”

Junsu nodded, rather lost. Changmin had told him he knew a girl that worked here, not a guy. But maybe he had just told him that to make it less awkward. If Junsu had known he was going to sleep next to one of Changmin’s friends he would never have gone in the first place.

Yoochun’s eyes twinkled, and he smirked. “As well as the guy that Jaejoong has been talking about for two weeks. Nice to meet you.”

They were shaking hands before Junsu had time to process the sentence. When he did, hope blossomed in his heart. “He’s been talking about me?”

Yoochun nodded. “Yeah. Normally I would never give out his information to a customer, especially since he was only filling in for me for one day, but I think you’re an exception. Do you have your phone on you?”

Junsu’s heart became lighter and lighter as he watched Yoochun enter Jaejoong’s phone number into his phone. Not only had Jaejoong been talking about him, but he didn’t even work here. The thought of Jaejoong treating other people in the same way had been tugging at his mind and it was kind of a relief to lay it to rest. And now he had his phone number.

When Yoochun handed his phone back, he just stared at it for a minute.

“Too bad I was sick when you visited; I wouldn’t have minded snuggling up to that butt of yours.”

Junsu didn’t even realise what Yoochun had said until he was back outside after having thanked him profusely.

\---

Now there was just the problem of calling Jaejoong. Every time he used his phone for something, he couldn’t help but scroll down to the name and number. He didn’t think Jaejoong would mind him calling, or Yoochun wouldn’t have given out his number, but what would he say? _Hi, I’m the guy you slept with and I kind of really like it so do you want to do it again and maybe go out with me?_

It all sounded wrong, and every time his finger hovered over the call button, he became anxious and put his phone away. Changmin, having heard the story from Yoochun, nagged at him for days before he gave up.

Junsu was actually looking forward to seeing his snarky friend tonight; at least it would provide him with some distraction. He was supposed to meet him in front of their favourite takeaway place, but when he arrived there, the normally punctual Changmin was nowhere to be seen.

He did, however, get punched in the arm.

“Ass,” Jaejoong said. “I was so happy when Yoochun told me he had given you my number, and then you never call me.”

Junsu gaped. If possible, Jaejoong looked even better outside and dressed. His clothes were a stylish combination of black and grey with a large scarf wrapped around him. Jaejoong huffed and looked away, cheeks tinted pink.

“Jaejoong,” Junsu said in wonder.

“Yes, you idiot,” Jaejoong replied and glared at him. “Don’t tell me you didn’t recognise me with my clothes on.”

Some people next to them gave them strange looks.

Junsu didn’t know what to do, but he could tell that Jaejoong was embarrassed and annoyed, and he was so afraid that the other might walk away that he did the first thing that entered his mind; he grabbed Jaejoong’s hand and laced their fingers together.

“That’s extra.” But Jaejoong was smiling at him and it felt like his stomach was running around in joy, bumping into his heart every once in a while. For the first time in weeks, Junsu felt entirely awake.

\---

“This is so much better now that I can kiss you awake,” Jaejoong said after having just done so, his fingers tracing paths down Junsu’s body.

 They were lying in bed, completely wrapped up in each other. It didn’t matter how they fell asleep, it was like the gravitated towards each other during the night. Neither of them minded. As a joke, Yoochun had given them a pricelist from the cuddle café for their anniversary, which was now proudly hanging above their headboard.

Jaejoong nuzzled his neck and Junsu almost purred from contentment, smiling happily into the next kiss. “Love you.”

“That will be a million won.”

Junsu laughed and pulled Jaejoong back into the kiss.

 

 


End file.
